Thriving in an Environment of Change

Thriving in an Environment of Change
 Nenad Furtula – Bluestream Database Software
 Neeraj Bhatia – Guidewire Software

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Nenad Furtula
Speaker introduction
• VP Sales and Marketing at Bluestream Database Software Corp.
• In XML space for 15 years
• Delivered a number of different products (XML Database, XML Reporting tool)
• XDocs CCMS flag-ship product (13 years in production)
• Customers all over the globe ranging from 2 person writing teams to instances with hundreds of
users, writers, content contributors on the system
• Over the years helped many organizations make a transition into structured content namely DITA.
• BBA Capilano University, BSC (computer science) Dalhousie University

Why Guidewire presentation matters
Vision and Drive
Traditional v. New Business Case for structured content

Traditional business case for structured content
• Reuse (not the most compelling reason)
• Localization (what if you are not translating content)
• Content Creation Lifecycle Process Improvement (i.e. it takes us 3 weeks to publish a PDF document)
• Information Accuracy (i.e. Medical Device Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical)

The ‘NEW’ driving force behind structured content adoption
Approach: Dynamic Web-based Content Delivery
• “Enhancing end-user product experience through product documentation”

Dynamic web-based content delivery (cont)
Def:
ability to generate (at times) user specific, most up to date content that is either
embedded in a web-based application or delivered via web-based application that
generally talks to a CCMS (but not always). *
-It allows the end user to quickly find the answer they are looking for
-allows the organization to track users behaviour
-allows the end-users to meanenguly comment on or share the result set with others
including the content creators
-it easily displays on multiple devices (mobile in particular)
-many other things...

Why dynamic web-based content delivery
Technology is changing!
• Mobile Revolution (more people consuming information on a smaller screen)
• Technology has become available to facilitate this kind of change
• Applications for which we are writing documentation are changing (ie. cloud
based)

Neeraj Bhatia
Speaker introduction
• Technical Publications Director at Guidewire Software
• Education: Electronics Engineering, Software Development, Management
• Four years in Advertising; 19 years in Technical Communication
• Technical products; global teams; driving change, DITA

The enterprise software landscape was changing
B
D
C
A
One large application
B
D
C
A
Small, independent, auto-deployable services
E

Our documentation needs were changing
Monolithic, on-premise
products
Closed systems
One-size-fits-all products
Custom, tailored
solutions
Open, integrated
systems
Cloud-based
microservices
Content imperatives
New, easily customizable deliverables
Standards compliant, easy to integrate
Modern build and delivery system, easy
to update and publishAnd of course, use cases
Long release cycles (12-
18 months)
Short release cycles
(monthly, weekly)
Modular, hosted content

That was not all
Practically everything was set to change
Customer expectations were
changing
• Reduced attention spans
• Less hopping across “books”
• Search when you need help
• In-context assistance
• Modern experience
Guidewire was changing
• Expanding product portfolio
• Multiple acquisitions
• Growing Development team
• More cloud products
• Expanding markets: more
locales, more languages
And we had a vision for our
documentation
• Modern, scalable authoring
environment
• Modern delivery system
• Rapid publishing
• User feedback
• Analytics
• Personalized content
• …

Decision time
• Should we do this ourselves, or should we hire a consultant?
• To DITA or not to DITA?
• What tools will we need? Content management, authoring, delivery?
• Should we build functionality in-house, or should we buy a CMS?
• How do we get buy-in from stakeholders?

Getting buy-in from stakeholders
 Overwhelming support; some
apprehension
 Reassure
Separate out long-term vision from near-term goals
“Yes, it’s a lot of work, but we will do it in phases”
 Prioritize to balance workload
 Highlight opportunities
Skill upgrade, training, career growth,..
 Hear every point of view
Writers
 Some team members may not accept change
 Do not let naysayers drive group consensus

Getting buy-in from stakeholders
 Speak their language
 Cost, timeline, effort, impact, ROI
 Some familiarization with your terminology is helpful
 Messaging matters
 Modernize infrastructure; enhance “product”
experience
 Supports shift in tech (monolithic products to modular
chunks)
 Consider their risk appetite
Proposal backed by data and confidence will reduce risk
perception.
Executives
 Set the right expectations
 Multi-year project
 Trade-offs: release commitments vs. future work
 Additional staffing?

Vendor selection
Landscape
exploration: what
is out there?
Requirements
definition
POCs with two
systems
Final selection
Exploratory
discussions with
vendors (8)
Initial presentations
(6)
In-depth technical
discussions and
demos (4)
Requests for
proposals (RFPs)

Market-leader? Most features? Least expensive?
Which features are most important for you? Must-haves vs. nice-to-haves
Review RFP responses carefully. Out-of-the-box functionality vs. custom configuration
Are they a good cultural fit?
Vendor selection

Executing the project
Paperwork DITA architecture Builds, automation
CMS deployment Content conversion
 SOW, Contracts, Legal,
Purchasing, Security …
 Approvals, and more approvals!
Plan time. Bureaucracy exists in the
most efficient organizations.
 Content model
 DITA tags
Things will change as you start using
DITA.
 IT, IS teams: security policies,
firewall exceptions, …
 Initial pilot: test assumptions, learn
from experience.
 Custom features
 In-house scripts
 Pre- and post-conversion effort
 Phased approach. Process
improved with each iteration
 Deliverable transforms and
verification
 Content validations
 Automated builds
 …

What is next?
Deliverables
• New deliverables for
new audiences
• Online help,
embedded content,
walk-throughs,
videos, chatbot
content, …
Builds and
Automation
• Scheduled builds
• Content validations
• UI improvements
• Workflows
Doc portal
• Streamlined delivery
• User feedback,
personalized content
• Better search
• Analytics
• …
TBD

 Nenad Furtula – Bluestream Database Software
 Neeraj Bhatia – Guidewire Software
Thank You

Q & A

Lessons learned
• Don’t try to boil the ocean
Set a long-term vision, but work towards it in phases
• Having the right team matters
o Technical skills, subject matter expertise (in-house or hired)
o Mix of champions, people who question status quo, and people who
can execute
• Communication is important
• Work with your vendor as a partner
• Your best-laid plans will fail
Adapt, accept, and reprioritize

Thriving in an Environment of Change

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